Cape Town — The Department of Transport (DoT) says it is making significant progress to deliver new driver’s license cards and printing equipment for the country.
Transport Minister, Sinidisiwe Chikunga, said the department was at the end of procuring new machines from France, which would speed up the process that the department would be able to release license cards, in just five working days – nine days quicker than the current system, EWN reported.
“I can tell you now that before the end of this month, we will be printing new driving licences, and we will launch at least the first 100 per province.” Chikunga said in May.
The department has missed its own deadline by a number of days and the department said the progress has come amid challenges of finding a suitable service provider.
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According to The Citizen, concerns were raised by civil society organisations over the lack of transparency regarding the procurement process for the new machines.
Department spokesperson, Collen Msibi, said the evaluation and adjudication bids were now complete and the department was on the brink of the new system, however the audit process remained the final hurdle to overcome. He said the has embarked on its first attempt to find a solution.
“The above bid was advertised on 10 November 2022. This bid process was unsuccessful, resulting in a re-advertisement of the bid on 5th April 2023. The above bid closed on May 5th, 2023, and owing to its technical complexity, this bid continues to be under consideration, which requires the department to adhere to prescribed SCM (supply chain management) prescripts and regulations,” Msibi said.
The department has asked for patience as it is against the law to poke its nose into the current bidding affairs and said it cannot be characterised as having “a lack of transparency”. The department will update on the matter when all processes have been completed.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
